Marion Monroe Bennett was the son of William Hardy Bennett and Sydney Manning, who were originally from Georgia. He was born on December 27, 1851 in Dallas County, Texas. He was the husband of Minerva Frances Chapman, the daughter of Davis Greene Chapman and Nancy Caroline Coats, who was born September 26, 1858 in Tennessee.

Marion and Minerva Bennett were residents of the area near Mesquite, Texas when they appeared in what was then Precinct 4 of the 1880 Census of Dallas County. At that time Marion Bennett's family consisted of: Himself, a 27 year old farmer born in Texas; his wife Minerva F., age 24 and born in Kentucky; and their Texas-born sons: Ripley T., 6; Arthur Frank, 3; and Lee, 2; and Walter Marion, 3 months. Missouri-born C. E. Rodgers, age 20, was working for the family as a Farm Hand. Marion's parents, William, 55, and Sidney, 52, were only a few households away. His paternal grandfather, Hiram Bennett, 85, and his second wife Sarah Dougan, 54, were only a little farther down the road from him.

Marion and Minerva were the parents of the following children born in Dallas County with the exception of Henry Lee, who was born in Kaufman County:
Ripley Travis (8 Feb 1872 / 28 Mar 1955)
- m. Anna Josephine Wilson
Arthur Franklin (14 Apr 1876 / 26 Dec 1946)
- m. Lida Frances Elam
Henry Lee (7 Oct 1877 / 4 Oct 1925)
- m. Alice Artelia Robinson
Walter Marion (22 Mar 1880 / 28 Jun 1944)
- m/1. Mildred D. Cory
- m.2. Odora Lee Stampes
Charles Columbus (2 Aug 1884 / 1948)
- m. Georgia Grace Smith
Ester Frances (22 May 1886 / 13 Sep 1959)
- m. Jessie Elizabeth Jett
Caroline Maud (9 Apr 1888 / 21 Apr 1983)
- m. Charles Columbus Cole
Hattie Sydney (13 Oct 1892 / 25 Jul 1975)
- M. Edward Hughes Barrett

Marion Monroe Bennett died on May 3, 1924 in Dallas County. He was buried in the Bennett Family Cemetery, Balch Springs, Dallas County, Texas in what is now called the Bennett Memorial Garden within Laurel Oaks Memorial Park Cemetery. His wife joined him then after her death November 8, 1936.